


Runaway with Us for the Summer

by BabelFishing



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: A plot with a surprising amount of letter writing, Emotional Growth, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Hamilton References, Love, Music, Personal Growth, letter writing, past relationship, personal conflict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 10:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25348867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabelFishing/pseuds/BabelFishing
Summary: To Adora, it feels like everyone in her life is sending the same message - "take a break" from her jam-packed schedule. But she can't shake the feeling that if she doesn't stay busy, then she's somehow shirking her duty to Etheria. After a talk with a friend, though, Adora starts to see a way to balance her devotion to duty and her own needs.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	Runaway with Us for the Summer

**Author's Note:**

> Something about seeing "Take a Break" in the Hamilton movie stuck in mind. Maybe it was Anthony Ramos pretending to be a nine-year old. Maybe it was the comma-based sexting. Either way, I couldn't stop listening it for a few days after. It brought to mind another non-stop hero who's prone to putting their duty before their personal needs. And so, this fanfic came into being.
> 
> Oh, there are also lyrical reference throughout the text. I couldn't say 'no' to that. I also couldn't pass up a chance to allude to past relationship between Adora and Glimmer. It fit the Hamilton/Angelica dynamic too well this time around.
> 
> Altogether, I hope you enjoy this piece!

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine…_

Silently, so as not to wake her sleeping partner, Adora counted out the number of letters she had received that morning from Bright Moon’s page. She was used to getting this much mail from around Etheria at this point, but that didn’t make it any easier to keep up with. All of this mail didn’t make it any easier to prioritize her day, either.

Almost immediately, Adora spotted a few regular correspondents among the folded parchment missives. In particular, the florally-embossed letterhead of Plumeria, and its princess, Perfuma, stood out from the bunch. Perfuma wrote letters to just about everyone in the Princess Alliance on a regular basis, especially now that she split her time between her home kingdom and Horror Hall in the former Fright Zone. Adora knew that the contents of her letter were likely not urgent, so she set it aside and continued to shuffle through the stack.

This process revealed four different pieces of “fan mail,” as Catra had taken to calling it sarcastically. Even though Etheria had been saved from Horde Prime’s invasion nearly two years ago, Adora was still surprised at how many people welcomed her as a hero in their midst. This kind of royal treatment extended to her time at home in Bright Moon as well, where at least a few letters of admiration from children and adults alike arrived daily.

Adora always tried her best to read through all of these personal letters and reply when possible. However, she wasn’t always keen to do so until a large backlog had accumulated because she didn’t like to spend hours reading praise levied at herself. To her belief, she didn’t need the praise at all – she believed that continuing to serve Etheria as an honorary princess was enough of an honor.

Deciding that she’d come back to the fan mail on a rainy day, Adora continued to sift through her mail collection. As she moved to set aside the fan mail stack, one sealed envelope hailing from Alwyn slipped out and landed with a gentle *thud* right on top of Catra, who was still sleeping beside her in bed. For a moment, Adora feared that some reactionary stirring meant that she’d accidentally woken her partner. But soon, Catra settled back in and continued to sleep peacefully.

Breathing a small sigh of relief, Adora then began to handle each piece of mail individually and with both hands. The next letter she grabbed out of the stack also bore Plumeria’s letterhead but lacked the floral cardstock that indicated its origins on Perfuma’s desk. The letter lacked a correspondent name, so Adora decided it was best to open it and check it out.

Before doing so, Adora reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her purpose-made letter opener – a miniature, blunt version of her own Sword of Protection. It had actually been a gift from Catra, who had started to worry about how many paper cuts her partner was accruing from manually opening all of her mail. Adora made sure to use it as much as possible, even when the gift-giver herself wasn’t around or, in this case, was asleep beside her.

After sliding the letter opener over the Plumerian letter’s seal, Adora unfolded the document and quickly read it over. As it turned out, the information contained therein wasn’t all that urgent in nature after all. In fact, it was just an update on the Plumerian’s efforts to reclaim and reuse a former Horde base within their kingdom.

While Adora was always interested to hear about how the various kingdoms continued to flourish in a post-Horde world, she wasn’t really sure why this update had been addressed to her. If anything, she thought, it should have gone to Glimmer, as the proper monarch of Bright Moon. Or better yet, it should have gone to Scorpia, given that her newly reformed kingdom had taken up the task of decommissioning old Horde installations. Adora decided to set this letter aside as well, with the intent to drop it off in Glimmer’s study when she went to breakfast.

As Adora continued to glance over the remaining letters, the soft, golden glow of morning in Bright Moon danced through the windows of her and Catra’s shared room. It was actually the same room Adora had stayed in before she and Catra had reunited, but it had been modified to better suit the couple. Many of the additions – such as a smaller waterfall and more elevated seating – had been at Adora’s request, in order to make the space more of a comfortable home for Catra.

Adora took a moment to simply enjoy the ambiance of the morning and the tranquility it brought with it. On days like this, Adora was awake before the rest of the castle’s inhabitants. During that time, she’d page through her mail and figure out her personal schedule for the day. After that, she’d usually go for a morning jog around the castle grounds while the morning air was still crisp and cool. Occasionally, she’d jog by Glimmer and Bow’s chamber on the way back just to say good morning to Glimmer, who wasn’t a morning person and usually appeared half-asleep at the doorway.

While taking in another breath of fresh morning air that wafted through the open balcony door, Adora continued her task. The next piece of mail she grabbed was from a regional trade association who often wrote to her seeking advice on their new initiatives. Despite iterating her lack of knowledge on the topic, the association still regularly solicited her input.

However, this particular letter was from the association’s president and was addressed on his personal letterhead. Within the text of the handwritten letter, the president asked for She-Ra to attend an upcoming trade summit and act as a mediator for a major negotiation.

That request caused Adora to double-take, not least because that would have been a major responsibility for someone with knowledge of proper trade policy. Most of Adora’s expertise lay in leadership and combat. So, she would have almost certainly been out of her depth in such a consequential position. Still, though, she considered accepting the invitation if her presence as She-Ra would have helped improve relations among Etheria’s many diverse populations.

Adora checked the invitation’s specifics towards the bottom of the letter and saw that the summit was scheduled for the day of the summer solstice. In other words, it was coming right up and Adora needed to start studying up if she wanted to be of any use to the association. Adora scribbled out a note in her personal journal to write back to the association, as well as begin studying trade policy basics in the Bright Moon library.

After committing that plan to memory, Adora snapped up the next letter laying before her. This was just a simple piece of paper, folded over and marked with a seal she’d only recently become accustomed to seeing. It was the mark of a soon-to-be village near to Bright Moon called Lunaria. It had recently committed to incorporating after many former refugees from other Whispering Woods villages decided to remain closer to Bright Moon proper.

The seal made the folded paper look more official than it was, though. The coffee stain on the paper immediately betrayed the fact that it had been sent by Huntara, who had been acting as a sort of foreman for recent building efforts around the village’s proposed center. Huntara had never been one for fancy stationary, which is likely why this particular missive was scrawled on the blank side of a materials acquisition form.

Cutting the note open, Adora read through Huntara’s very direct request for physical assistance down at the worksite. From the sound of it, the construction team needed someone to help hold the main cross beams for the new village hall building while they were being bolted into place. “Four of these guys couldn’t lift as much as you, Blondie,” Huntara pointed out in the request, “so if you can swing by today for even an hour, I’d really appreciate it.”

Adora considered the rest of her day schedule. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to go lend a hand, especially since she had some free time during the afternoon. Even without a request, Adora wasn’t one to turn down a chance to break a sweat out in the field. Sure, most of her other duties in and around the kingdom were fulfilling. But something about getting down to business with just her own two hands (or She-Ra’s two hands, in many cases) made her feel like she was really making a difference for Bright Moon.

Without further hesitation, Adora quickly scrawled her reply to Huntara and refolded it. Setting it aside so that she could pass it along to one of the pages, Adora began to gather up the rest of the letters. But as she did so, she noticed something unusual – there was a letter on Bright Moon stationary peeking out from the bottom the pile. Not only that, but the letter was unmistakable written on royal letterhead, meaning it had to be from…Glimmer!

In a burst of excitement, Adora swung her legs out of bed with the royal letter in hand. She hadn’t heard from Glimmer in almost two weeks, during which time she and Bow had been visiting many of the other kingdoms on good-will missions. Glimmer preferred to complete all of these visits back-to-back, even though they took her away from her home kingdom for almost three weeks. Such long leaves of absence were rare, so Adora had actually sent along a letter of her own a few days prior so that it would reach her friend while they were in the Kingdom of Snows.

Upon inspecting the letter, it was clear that Glimmer herself had folded and sealed it. That’s because, despite now being Queen for several years, Glimmer still had trouble aligning the royal seal in hot wax. Still, the wax did its job, allowing Adora to break it upon with a quick swipe of her letter opener. Inside, in Glimmer’s flowing handwriting, the letter read:

_My dearest, Adora,_

_Don’t ever tell Frosta this, but I have never managed a good night sleep in the Kingdom of Snows. Not once. As you know, I sleep warm most of the time. But the guest rooms here – even the ones made for visiting dignitaries – are positively frigid. I suppose the whole castle is made from ice but…what kind of royal privilege does a girl have to throw around to get a blanket?_

_That’s not why I’m writing, though. I actually wanted to make a suggestion to you, as your friend._

_Take. A. Break._

_Based upon your last letter, you’ve been working yourself to the bone since Bow and I hit the road. Helping with construction in Lunaria is one thing, but trying to meet with all of the Advisory Council candidates AND handling all of my Alliance Council meetings AND picking all of the crescent moon plums? That’s too much, Adora, especially after all the work you put in before we left so that I could be gone for almost an uninterrupted month._

_(But still, thank you for picking the plums.)_

_I’m going to be fully honest with you – I’ve known you long enough to tell you that you’re a workaholic. You’re always focused on ‘the mission’ and it doesn’t wear you out to have multiple missions rolling at once. That’s perfectly okay – you certainly get more done in a week than me, the literal Queen. But you also have to take some time for yourself every now and then, so that you can recharge._

_You know as well as I do that this was one of the wedges between us when we were together. Your spirit and commitment to helping other people is second to none. You don’t have a single selfish bone in your body – that is something I’ll always admire about you. But that doesn’t mean that you should put yourself second every day of the week. Believe me, when you do that, you end up putting people that care about you second as well._

_Now, I’m not just writing this to reprimand you (and if it sounds like I am, then maybe I’m turning into my Mom sooner than I thought). In truth, I’m writing to present you with the perfect opportunity to take your much deserved break._

_As soon as Bow and I get back, we’re going to turn right around and take a week off from our usual duties. I’ve already talked to Dad and he said we can stay at a cabin up on Mount Junipero that he used to train at when he was young. I’ve been there before, and you can take my word for it when I say that it’s the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of Bright Moon._

_However, Bow and I agreed that we should have the entire Best Friend Squad along for the trip, like old times. So, you and Catra are invited to join us on this mini-vacation. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we haven’t had enough time together lately. But don’t worry, we don’t have to spend every minute up there together. In fact, there’s a lake I know in a nearby park where you and Catra can go when it’s dark, if you want…_

_All this to say, I know you’re very busy and I know your work’s important to you. Believe me, Bright Moon would hardly be what it is today without you. But you need to take a break, and this is the perfect chance for us all to enjoy the summer solstice together. So, will you be joining us?_

_Oh, and if you are already thinking about saying ‘no,’ then I’ll add this in:_

_Take a break – that’s an order from your Queen._

_Glimmer_

Anyone else reading a letter from Glimmer to Adora might not have known it was being sent from a bonafide monarch. But all the same, Adora couldn’t help but fondly smile at her friend’s rather forceful tone. Glimmer had Adora’s best interest at heart – that much was clear and Adora wanted to honor her invitation as such. But she also had a lot on the docket in the coming days, especially if she was going to fill that mediator spot on the summer solstice…

Adora sat pensively for a moment, wondering if she should write back right then and there. She wanted to give herself time to think about Glimmer’s offer, though, especially the chance to “take a break” as she suggested. At the same time, she wasn’t sure if Catra would be up for it. Realizing that this was a bit of an excuse to not immediately commit one way or another, Adora decided to wait until she had a chance to ask her partner about the vacation invitation.

With that, Adora finally stood up and set the rest of her mail aside. The morning was escaping her quicker than anticipated, so she decided it was high time she started her daily run. After a quick wardrobe change into her white performance top, crimson shorts (technically Catra’s), and running shoes, she was ready to hit her usual path around the castle grounds.

Usually, Adora would try to get into a balanced mindset before running by performing a set of stretches. But something about the letter from Glimmer was still consuming her thoughts, besides the offer to run away for the summer solstice. Was it Glimmer’s insistence that she overworked herself? Maybe she had a point about that…

Or was it the comma in the middle of that phrase? Maybe it was just a mistake, but it changed the meaning, anyway. Even as she finished her stretches and began jogging at pace, Adora couldn’t help but wonder if it was intended.

\---

By the time Adora returned from her run, the day in Bright Moon had begun in earnest. After reentering through a side door, General Juliet greeted the blonde. The two stopped to talk for a moment, mainly about the general’s previous request for Adora to come teach her cadet squad proper quarterstaff combat techniques.

“Oh, that’s right! I got your letter the other day. I didn’t get a chance to respond, but I can totally help out!” Adora exclaimed more forcefully than she intended. She was still catching her breath after rounding out her run.

“I’m glad to hear that,” the general replied, “how soon can we expect your instruction?”

Adora thought about her schedule again to see if there were any openings to slot in an hour-long quarterstaff lesson. But then Adora thought it might be rude to impose upon the general’s schedule, especially if she already had a training regimen in place for her cadets.

With this train of thought in mind, Adora replied, “I can do it whenever you need me. I’m always up for teaching folks about my second favorite weapon.”

General Juliet looked back at Adora, her eyebrows raised inquisitively. “The quarterstaff isn’t your favorite? I thought you had mastered it.”

For a moment, Adora just looked back at the accomplish general in confusion. Then, suddenly, a lightbulb flashed on in her head. “Oh, I’m pretty confident with a quarterstaff in hand, yeah. But I’d still say my favorite is…you know, the magic sword that turns me into a 7-foot tall woman with perfect flowing hair.” This final comment was supposed to sound sarcastic, but Adora realized that it just gave further credence to her envy for She-Ra’s hair.

General Juliet nodded in agreement. “That makes sense, yes. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if I end up with any 7-foot tall cadets.” The general’s humor was always dry like this, but Adora appreciated it compared to the generally cold interactions they used to have during the war.

“So, as for your lesson…I am planning on giving my cadets the afternoon and evening off for the summer solstice. But I don’t have any work planned for them that morning, either. Would you be able to join us that morning?”

Adora bit her tongue at the suggestion of squeezing something else in on the solstice. If she still wanted to serve as a mediator, she’d have to leave immediately after giving the lesson…but she knew she could make it work. It would be a lot for one day, but she could pull it off with Swift Wind’s help.

But then Adora also recalled Glimmer’s invitation. Their trip would run over the summer solstice, making it impossible to commit to either of these requests for help. But she hadn’t committed to going on the trip yet and she still had to see if Catra wanted to go in the first place, so…she decided she’d take the general up on her offer.

“That sounds good,” Adora replied exuberantly, “I’ll start planning what I’ll teach your cadets right away.”

“Thank you, Adora” the general said with a nod, “I know they’ll be learning from one of Etheria’s best.”

General Juliet was not one to levy compliments at just anyone. So, her words made Adora feel like she had already accomplished something for the day.

“Thank you,” she replied with a slight bow. Realizing that she had to get moving if she wanted to make it out to the Lunaria worksite on time, Adora waved goodbye to the general and hustled upstairs.

Adora was still fairly energized from her run, so she accidentally opened the door to her bedroom with a bit of extra gusto. To be precise, she threw one of the double doors wide open and started to march right in to get changed. But at the last second, she realized that Catra was still asleep before…

*slam*

The bedroom door impacted the desk positioned against the wall beside it. Every drawer and writing utensil on the desk rattled about, causing several pens and folded letters to fall to the floor with a clatter. Once her noisy entrance had ceased, Adora glanced expectantly towards their bed, where Catra was clearly still snoring away. Adora breathed a sigh of relief, especially because Catra used to be such a light sleeper after moving into Bright Moon.

However, upon closer inspection, Adora now saw that her partner was indeed stirring awake. As Adora tried to creep over to their closet to get changed, she heard a muffled, “Adora…is that you…” from across the room.

Adora shut her eyes and clenched her fists in momentary anger at her own recklessness. But then she sighed out her personal anger and replied, “Yeah, it’s me. I didn’t mean to wake you, I’m sorry.” As she said this, she popped off her running shoes and walked over to sit on Catra’s side of the bed.

By the time Adora arrived at her partner’s side, Catra had begun to awaken in earnest. Even without saying a word, her groggy mood was already apparent. Her bedhead really accentuated this mood and, in Adora’s opinion, made her that much cuter to wake up to every morning.

“Hey, beautiful. Good morning,” Adora softly whispered. Catra responded by opening one eye slightly, purring quietly, then sleepily replying, “good morning.”

“I didn’t mean to make such a racket,” Adora apologized again, “I just got back from my run. I’m going to change really quick so that I can get some breakfast before heading out to Lunaria.”

Catra was initially silent in reply, but eventually rolled over to face her partner. “You’re working down there again today? You’ve been there all week.”

Thinking back, Adora realized that Catra was partially right. In truth, she’d been helping the construction crews and advising the new mayor about how to set up their street system. Adora recognized that she lacked expertise in that kind of urban planning, and she voiced her apprehension as soon as the mayor had brought it up. But they seemed to be reassured when she agreed with their existing plans, so she continued “advising” them whenever they asked.

“I know,” Adora replied while resting a hand on Catra’s waist, “they’ve needed me a lot lately. But it feels like they’re making great progress! Huntara actually asked for me to help them set the town hall’s support beams today, which I can totally handle.”

Both of Catra eyes were partially open now as she blinked in the new day’s light. “Don’t they ever give you a break, though? I feel like I’ve barely seen you during the day lately.”

That comment gave Adora some pause. Adora knew that, if she was being honest with herself, Catra was right on this front, too. Her commitments lately had kept her busy right up until supper time most days, and then sometimes even later. Catra wasn’t one to complain about that kind of thing directly, either, so Adora knew that she must have been thinking about it a lot lately.

Adora didn’t want to gloss over what her partner had iterated. But she continued on to try to explain the situation. “Huntara asked for my help specifically today, so I don’t want to let her down.”

By way of a reply, Catra sighed and rolled over so that she was facing away from Adora. She pulled the covers back up over herself slightly, and intonated, “I’ve just been missing you lately. Seeing you in the evening is nice and all. But you’re always so tired from running around all day that you fall right asleep.”

Catra pulled the covers up further, perhaps to cover her slight blush. “We don’t get much time to just ourselves, you know. I miss that, too.”

Adora could feel the charge in that last comment, and unconsciously bit her lip. That was definitely true, and Adora couldn’t deny it. For a moment, Adora realized that maybe Glimmer had been right. She’d been keeping herself so busy that she wasn’t being as attentive to Catra as she needed…or deserved.

“Oh, that actually reminded me of something I needed to ask you,” Adora interjected while interrupting her own train of thought, “I got a letter from Glimmer this morning. Actually, it was an invitation.”

Catra turned back over to face her partner, the blush in her face fading away once more. “An invitation to what?”

“Here, have a look.” Adora rose and paced back over to her bedside stand to grab the letter. She opened it once more and reached out to hand it to her partner.

But at the last second, she remembered parts of the letter’s contents. She wasn’t exactly sure if that had been for Catra’s eyes, so she pulled back the letter back and said, “Actually, you know what. You’re probably still tired. So, I’ll just read it to you.”

Catra simply shrugged, so Adora read her the part talking about the invitation. Once she finished, Catra said matter-of-factly, “Oh, right, that. Yeah, Sparkles sent me a letter about that a few days ago. She wanted to make sure my schedule was free over the solstice, which it is, of course.”

With a bit of a disappointed look on her face, Adora asked, “You did? Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“Sorry, it must have slipped my mind in the 10 minutes I see you most nights.” Catra’s reply hadn’t meant to be cutting, but it still impacted Adora all the same.

Adora decided to press on, anyway. “So, do you want to go with them, then?”

Catra finally sat up, the covers still pulled up around herself slightly. She shook her head rather violently, causing her hair to mostly settle back into place. As she began to stretch, Catra replied, “Yeah, it sounds like a nice place. I’m always up for a change of scenery. I assume you’re coming, too?”

“I’m still deciding, actually,” Adora said with a slight frown as she turned toward the nearby open window, “I’ve already committed to helping out General Juliet teach quarterstaff combat on the solstice. Oh, and the trade association wants me to be their summit mediator on that day, which I figured I could manage. I could try to fit in some First Ones research that morning, too, if I wake up early enough…”

“Adora, stop,” Catra interrupted, indicating that she was plenty awake now, “ You’re already doing more than any reasonable person would ask of you. You need to take a break.”

Catra grabbed Adora’s wrist gently, but firmly, and continued, “This cabin up on the mountain sounds like it’s right up your alley. And Sparkles said that there’s a secluded lake nearby that we could check out in the evening.”

Catra’s blush returned again, momentarily. “We could go at night too, I guess. It would probably be more…enticing to see under the stars.” Catra realized how her description of a lake that she had never been to sounded, but she also wanted her partner to get her point.

Adora was starting to get the point, as indicated by the slight rosy color in her own cheeks. But she still tried to argue against the idea of a break. “Still, though, I’d have to change all of my plans. I don’t want to inconvenience General Juliet and the trade association and…”

Tilting her head slightly so that she was making full eye contact, Catra tightened her grip to cut off her partner’s line of excuses. She blinked once, and simply replied, “Adora, I want you to come. I’m not going to force you to, but I would be happier if you did.”

This, too, impacted right on Adora’s heart. She was almost convinced right there and then to say ‘yes.’ But instead, she leaned over and kissed Catra on the forehead. “I’ll think it over, okay?”

Catra then pulled Adora forward by her wrist and kissed her with more passion than Adora had expected in the morning. She wasn’t complaining though, and she returned the affectionate gesture in turn. As they parted, Catra whispered, “You can think about that, too.”

And as it turned out, Adora did think about _that_ for much of the rest of the day. Even as she changed clothes to prepare for her work out in Lunaria, she thought more intently about accepting Glimmer’s invitation and getting to enjoy some more personal time with her beloved.

\---

Within 10 minutes, Adora was able to descend from Bright Moon proper and cross into the open field that would soon be known as Lunaria. Just a few months ago, this area was almost entirely empty, save for the few refugee families who had chosen to remain on site to help with the construction. Now, the efforts of those families was becoming fully apparent as a new village found itself tucked among the verdant branches of the Whispering Woods.

Since Queen Glimmer had announced the project, Adora had been helping in any way she could. At first, that meant helping locate potable water source that the future villagers could sustainably draw from. Then, her advice was sought when it came time to name the town (Adora fully supported the villagers’ chosen name, which had been the same as the temporary settlement).

As buildings began to rise, Adora’s strength became an occasional asset as well. While there were plenty of workers to handle the day-to-day lifting, the construction team’s leader, Huntara, often liked to bring her in for jobs that “only Blondie can accomplish right the first time.” These requests for help weren’t too frequent for Adora’s liking and besides, she liked knowing that she’d personally contributed to the village’s growth.

Today, she was fulfilling a similar service, per Huntara’s request earlier that morning. However, she had learned from previous work on site that Huntara wanted her to check in before throwing her back into it. So, Adora made a bee line around a few groups of rough and tumble-looking construction workers (many of whom were recruited from the Crimson Wastes, Adora knew) and to a small pavilion set up as the command center near the village square.

Upon arrival, Adora was greeted to the sound of Huntara barking out commands to a group stone masons. “Are you trying to tell me that’s as square as you can make that corner?” Adora overheard her shout, “I could do better with eyes closed!”

Adora was not about to step into the middle of that, so she waited patiently until Huntara had satisfactorily dressed down the unfortunate stone masons. In some ways, it was almost entertaining to see how particular Huntara – self-proclaimed ruler of the Crimson Wastes - had become so particular about construction methods in just a few months on the job.

As Adora continued to watch, Huntara’s beratement continued uninterrupted. “You’re working on the village hall here, see? So, when I say that every stone has to be perfect, I mean that _every last stone_ has to be aligned at the corners. We hired you to do this job right and if you can’t, you can bet that we can find your replacement by tomorrow morning.”

Huntara looks over toward the pavilion and noticed Adora standing there, waiting. “In fact,” she said while gesturing over towards Adora, “Blondie here is going to replace you right this moment.” She then gestured for Adora to come over, which Adora obliged because she also wasn’t angling to get on Huntara’s bad side.

Once she made it over, Huntara continued her verbal attack on the poor stone masons. “Blondie, I was just telling these lightweights that you could probably slap together a few stones better than they could. Think you’re up to it?”

Any request from a towering figure like Huntara felt intimidating. But this one had put Adora on the spot because she didn’t want to directly say ‘no’ and risk some further wrath. Adora wasn’t sure why she was worried like that – Huntara was not only her friend, but Adora herself could turn into an imposing figure as tall and as strong as Huntara herself.

But even so, Adora only managed to stutter out, “Um…I’ve never really done masonry work before.” She looked away for a moment and noticed one of the support beams being brought into the area by a team of eight men. In an attempt to change the subject, Adora pointed over in the direction of the massive, tree-sized beam and iterated, “Anyway, I’m here to help with that!”

Huntara simply shook her head in response, before adding, “And here I was, thinking you’d show up the lightweights for me. Maybe another time, then.” She then glared down at the stone masons again and finished addressing them, “I’ll be back in an hour once we have these beams in place. Make those corners look sharp or I’ll have you scrubbing the walkways for the next week.”

Almost immediately, Huntara turned back into her jovial self and greeted Adora properly. “Blondie, it’s good to have you here again. I get tired most days after needing to tell these guys what to do at every turn. It’s nice having someone like you around that just gets the job done without complaint.”

“I’m always glad to help out where I’m able,” Adora replied without acknowledging the compliment. “So, are you ready for She-Ra?”

Huntara nodded and responded, “Sure, we can really get down to business with you in there.”

With that, Adora extended her right hand as if she were grasping an invisible sword. After closing her eyes for just a moment, the Sword of Protection materialized in her hand and she took hold of it. She then raised the sword above her head, an action that attracted a fair number of onlookers.

With her trademark zeal, Adora channeled her energy into the sword and called out, “For the Honor of Graysk–“

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from just behind the pavilion and cut off Adora’s declaration. This had effectively broken her concentration, so she just maintained her pose for another moment before looking around inquisitively.

“Ah, Adora, good to see you!”

At that moment, King Micah stepped out from behind the pavilion and waved as he approached. He wasn’t wearing his usual royal attire, indicating that he was on site to work that day. Like Adora, King Micah often lent his strength, and particularly his magic skills, to helping Lunaria’s construction progress. However, Adora hadn’t actually run into him in the burgeoning town up to that point.

Lowering the sword to her side, Adora waved in reply and called back, “King Micah! It’s good to see you, too!”

By then, Micah had sauntered over and stood beside both Adora and Huntara. It was clear immediately that Huntara didn’t appreciate the interruption but said nothing because Micah was still the king. Adora, on the other hand, was happy to see her best friend’s father at any time. Like Glimmer, he was often so wrapped up in royal business that she didn’t get to see him outside of formal events.

“I was just telling someone that we could use She-Ra’s strength to lift those support beams,” Micah announced with a light chuckle, “And now, here you are!”

“Here I am,” Adora smiled and gestured at herself with the sword still in hand. Realizing that she probably shouldn’t wave her magic sword around too much, she concentrated again and de-materialized it. She looked back up at Micah and added, “I was actually about to hop in there.”

“Oh, I won’t keep you from it then,” Micah acknowledged, “but before you get to work, I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for helping Glimmer out so much lately. I know that she wouldn’t have been able to travel for several weeks back-to-back like this without your work around here in her absence.”

Adora smiled in response to Micah’s praise, not least because it felt like praise from the kind of parental figure she never had. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I’d do anything to help out Glimmer, even if does mean sitting through a lot of meetings.”

Both of them laughed at that comment, perhaps because both of them fully understood how dry some meetings with royal officials could be. Micah added between laughs, “I missed a lot of things while I was on Beast Island, but I did not miss those meetings.”

Micah then raised a hand and gestured in Adora’s direction. “After taking all of that on, you deserve a break – especially with the summer solstice coming up. I assume you’ll be joining Glimmer and Bow up at my old training cabin, correct?”

For a moment, Adora was surprised that Micah knew about those plans. But then she remembered how close Glimmer and her father had become after finally re-uniting in the moments after the war ended. It was also his cabin, after all, so it only made sense that he’d know who was visiting it.

“I actually just received Glimmer’s invitation this morning,” Adora replied so as not to dodge the question, “but I’m still not sure if I’ll be able to go.”

Micah looked surprised at Adora’s response. “Oh, and why not?”

“I actually have a few commitments that day already,” Adora explained, “including serving as a mediator for the local trade association during their upcoming summit.”

“That’s quite a commitment, yes,” Micah nodded. His expression turned inquisitive as he added, “is that…something you’ve done before?”

Adora knew too well that she had never been a trade mediator before, but she still briefly pretended to carefully consider the king’s question. “No, I haven’t,” she eventually concluded aloud, “but I’m a fast learner. I’m planning to read up on the subject before then.”

“I can’t deny that you’re a fast learner,” Micah affirmed. “But that’s a more challenging job than you might be expecting. I think you could probably handle if you had more time to learn the ropes. But at such short notice, it might be better that we send someone from Bright Moon’s diplomatic team.”

At this suggestion, Adora took slight offense internally. _I can handle it_ , she thought, _I always find a way_.

Aloud, though, Adora simply swatted away the suggestion with her hand and replied, “That won’t be necessary, Your Majesty. I’m confident that I can get the job done.”

Micah nodded again in reply. “I’m sure you would. But this sort of request is why we have maintained the diplomatic team. This sort of work is their job, after all. Are you sure that you wouldn’t rather send one of the diplomats in your place?”

Adora considered this question carefully upon realizing that she could actually pass off this duty to someone more capable. It was a tempting offer, she recognized, one that might actually free her up enough to take accept Glimmer’s invitation. But she also knew that she had already given her word and she didn’t want to back out now…

“I’ll give it some thought,” Adora finally answered. She didn’t want to commit one way or the other right at this moment, not with her doubts on both ends still whirling about. At this point, she really wanted to say ‘yes’, but she couldn’t put to rest her concerns that she’d be letting all of those people down by giving herself time off .

Micah looked satisfied with this answer, so he smiled and nodded once more. “I’ll hold you to that. Be sure to let me know soon, though. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on a chance to take a break from all of the hustle and bustle around here.”

And with that, King Micah waved goodbye and carried on with his business by the pavilion. Almost immediately, Huntara cut back in, “Now that you’ve got your chatting out of the way, are you ready to get in there?”

This sudden interjection startled Adora, who temporarily forgot that Huntara was looming just beside them. “Oh…ah, yes. Sorry to keep you waiting.” The sword again materialized in her hand and she began to walk towards the half-built town hall.

For the meantime, Adora committed herself to focusing on the work in front of her. Afterwards, though, she decided that she needed to go visit a friend and talk about all of this. Otherwise, she wasn’t certain that she could come to a decision before the summer solstice arrived.

\---

“You’re going to think this is a dumb problem.”

“Adora, your problems aren’t dumb. Just because it’s a problem on a smaller scale than ‘defeating an intergalactic colonizer’ doesn’t mean that it isn’t important.”

Adora sighed at this response because she’d heard it before. She’d even tried to internalize it previously, but she never found a way to make the message stick. Even so, she knew that Mara was right, as usual. It was hard to argue with her wisdom, anyway – she’d had hundreds of more years to think over these sorts of problems.

Adora then glanced over at Mara, who was looking as resplendent as ever. In the intervening years since the two had their heart-to-heart in the Heart, Adora discovered that they could still communicate astrally through the Crystal Castle. When they did so, Mara always appeared as she had when she embodied the first She-Ra controlled by the First Ones. But other than that, Mara was just the same kind, supportive woman Razz had so often told her about. At times, Adora even wished that they could have been friends, if not for Mara’s fate (and the passage of time, of course).

“Okay, before I launch into my problem, I want to ask you something,” Adora suggested.

Mara nodded. “What is it?”

Adora initially hesitated, but then started in on her question. “Okay, so, back when the First Ones chose you to wield the Sword of Protection, how did you deal with…like, your normal life? They must have had you training and doing stuff for them all the time, right? Did you ever get much time to yourself?”

Mara considered the question momentarily, then responded thoughtfully, “I suppose I didn’t get much time for myself once I had the Sword in hand. I mean, I didn’t really give myself a break, if I’m being honest. They told me I had a destiny, after all, and I wanted to do my best to fulfill it.”

“I know that feeling,” Adora cut in.

“But I did get some time to myself,” Mara continued. “Come to think of it, I ended up meeting most of my best friends right around the same time.”

Mara then raised her hand and caused three colored silhouettes to appear before the pair, much in the same way Light Hope had many years ago. Gesturing to the silhouettes, Mara went on, “I was fortunate to meet them. They ended up being my only real confidants once the going got tough. In fact, they were the only other people that knew the truth after I discovered it.”

“Grayskull,” Adora whispered after she realized these silhouettes were the very same “Friends of Mara” she had heard recordings of previously. Even in their featureless holographic form, Adora felt like she was in the presence of heroes.

Mara smiled and looked out towards the holograms, “Yeah, that was eventually the squadron name they assigned us. Even before that though, we were all such close friends. They were there for me when I needed them, right up until the very end. They helped me keep going, too, even when all the weight of my duty felt like too much.”

For Adora, this brought to mind images of Glimmer and Bow at first. But she then remembered all of the Princesses had done to support her, from the battle of Bright Moon to the final assault on Horde Prime. She still felt indebted to them in a way that she couldn’t verbalize.

“Serenia and I were especially eager to get any break we could from our training,” Mara continued, “But even when I wasn’t being asked to train myself or act as She-Ra, I couldn’t shake this feeling that I was ‘on duty.’ I always felt like I had to be doing something or I wasn’t using the power given to me responsibly.”

Mara’s description of her experiences hit Adora deep down, as if her predecessor had just read her mind. Even before she had stumbled upon the Sword in the Whispering Woods, she had felt guided by a purpose in life. Initially, that had been to serve the Horde’s goals. Later, it transformed into supporting the Rebellion and being the best She-Ra possible. Even with the war over now, Adora realized that she had never really given up on that non-stop soldier-like mentality.

At the same moment, Adora also realized that Glimmer’s assessment of her ‘workaholic’ really rung true. After all, Glimmer had seen firsthand how much that devotion to duty had distracted Adora in the past, when she was still wrangling with what it meant to be Etheria’s chosen hero. They had been close and even intimate for a time, but Adora was never able to give Glimmer the attention she needed…or deserved.

That second realization left a pit in Adora’s stomach – not for what she had had and lost, but for what she had now and was neglecting. Catra had voiced the very same sentiment that morning by pointing out that Adora hadn’t been leaving enough time for herself – for both of them – lately. Adora felt herself tear up a bit as she felt the weight of her misaligned priorities lower onto her conscious.

“Adora, are you alright?” Mara’s question broke Adora’s introspective concentration. It was only then that she realized that she had gone entirely silent and was beginning to cry lightly.

“Oh…” Adora responded with a hushed tone, “yeah, I’m alright. I just…I heard myself in what you said. I’ve felt like that, too, even before I had the Sword.”

“It’s hard to shake, isn’t it?” Mara pointed out with a slight laugh, “I mean, look at me – even after I was gone, I couldn’t rest peacefully knowing that the Heart was still a threat to Etheria.”

Adora chuckled a bit in response, “Yeah, but that’s a good reason to be restless. I just can’t make mind up if I want to take a few days off to just spend with Catra, Glimmer, and Bow. It would be over the summer solstice, but I already committed to helping people on that day. ”

Shaking her head in disagreement, Mara pointed out, “Your friends are as important as any other duty you may have. Believe me, they are worth living – and dying – for. You should be as focused on being their friend as you are on your other work supporting Etheria’s well-being.”

Again, Adora could feel that Mara was right in her assessment. But she still tried to argue, “I’m trying to be there for them, whenever I can. But everyone always wants me or She-Ra to do something for them. I can’t just say ‘no’ to them. I don’t want to let them down.”

Mara stood up from the ledge she and Adora had been sitting on, overlooking one of the Crystal Castle’s starry expanses. Adora followed suit as Mara began to speak once more.

“Adora, do you remember what I told you the first time we met here?”

“Of course. I’ve never forgotten it. It’s as much a part of me as the Failsafe.” Adora gestured to her upper chest for emphasis.

“I’m glad you remember it. Have you been living it, though?”

Adora paused to think about it. She had done her best to do so, starting from the moment she admitted her feelings to Catra. Even beyond that, she had endeavored to be more emotionally honest with everyone.

“I’ve tried to, as best I can. I know that I deserve love and I’ve done more to let that into my life.”

“Then you’re half way to understanding what I told you.”

“What do you mean?” Adora was genuinely puzzled at what her predecessor was trying to say.

Mara placed her hand on Adora’s shoulder. “ ‘You're worth more than what you can give to other people’ – that was my other admonition. It’s something I didn’t realize until it was too late, until my chance to act on it had passed. But you still have a life ahead – a wonderful life surrounded by your friends and the people who love you. While they – or all of Etheria - may ask things of you from time to time, that doesn’t mean that you should put yourself second.”

The reminder made Adora’s eyes well up again, but they were tears she needed to get out.

“So, if I were to sway you one way or another on your problem, I would say that you should take a break. Enjoy the company of your friends. Enjoy the company of your partner – I’m sure she misses your attention as much as anyone, even if she doesn’t say it outright. Serenia was always the same way.”

Adora whipped away a few tears and nodded. “Okay, I will.” She took in a deep breath and exhaled, allowing the last of her apprehension to dissolve with it.

Looking up, now with more confidence than before, she added, “Thank you.”

\---

A new morning’s light had just begun to crest over the treetops of the Whispering Woods. That gentle morning light began to shine through the windows of Catra and Adora’s room and onto a cluttered desk. There, two sizable stacks of letters slumped in uneven piles while Adora furiously scratched at a piece of parchment. Beside her, a brief letter in a child’s handwriting stood propped up in a little cubby within the desk.

“…and remember that you are perfect just the way you are,” Adora dictated out loud as she passed the thought into writing. Based upon the size of the stack to her right, it was clear that she had been busy for at least an hour responding to her fan mail. But based on the even larger pile to her left, she was still a long way from clearing her backlog.

Seeing that she was running out of room on the page, Adora decided to close out that particular letter. After scratching her pen against her head for a moment, a succinct ending came to mine. With a quick stroke, she wrote out, “Be strong. Be brave. But most importantly, be you.” With that, Adora signed her name (or rather, she signed as She-Ra) and set aside the finished letter.

Adora sighed lightly and looked back at her unopened letter pile. Now that she knew she didn’t need to worry about attending the trade association summit or teaching General Juliet’s cadets the next morning, she felt compelled to squeeze in just a little bit more work. After a bit of quick mental calculation, Adora snapped up another piece of fan mail, unsealed it, and began to read it in a single motion.

But at just the same moment, the bedroom door opened up. Adora popped her head up from the desk just in time see Catra’s walk in through a sun beam that had cast itself upon the door. The beam caused Catra to radiate briefly, with the early morning glow catching her heterochromatic eyes for a flash. A slight glint also rose off a gold pin – a setting of Adora and Catra’s names intertwined in the First One’s language - affixed to Catra’s forest green traveling cloak.

Looking around briefly before spotting her partner, Catra began to pace over to the desk, dropping a heavy duffel bag along the way. She looked slightly concerned, but not enough to necessitate urgency.

Once she made it within earshot, Catra spoke up and asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

With a quick nod before turning back to the desktop, Adora replied, “Yeah, I am. I just want to finish up one more letter before we go.”

With Adora’s eyes on the parchment, Catra softly crept up behind her and laid her arms over her partner’s shoulders. This had the intended reaction – to make Adora stop writing. She accented the gesture by noting, “Oh, and then it will be one more after that and another after that and then the solstice will come, and you’ll still be here replying to your fan mail.”

“I will not,” Adora responded while beginning to take up her pen again.

Like a burglar, one of Catra’s hands then reached out and nabbed the pen from Adora’s hand right as she was in the middle of a word. This caused Adora to immediately spin around and shout, “Hey, give it back!”

In response, Catra simply tilted her head slightly and tossed the pen over her shoulder. Instead of the expected clatter of it hitting the floor a moment later, they were both surprised to hear the sound of something landing in water. Catra’s aim had been a bit off, as it turned out, causing the writing utensil to splash down in their reflecting pool.

Despite her off-target heist, Catra still smiled a wide grin and jokingly mocked, “Well, I guess you don’t have anything to write with now. I guess you’ll just have to take a break now.”

Adora narrowed her eyes in fake anger, but soon relaxed when she realized that it was past their intended departure time. By now, Glimmer and Bow would likely be all packed up and ready to set out for King Micah’s cabin on Mount Junipero. There was no reason to hold the whole Best Friend Squad up – after all, that was why she and Catra had risen so early that morning.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Adora admitted before rising from the desk. While she would have preferred not dunking her favorite pen, she did feel a gentle warmth inside her to see Catra so playful that early in the morning. Her partner had never been one to thrive in the morning. So, to see it made Adora remember one of the many reasons she loved her one-time enemy so dearly.

Adora allowed that warmth to mingle inside of her, causing her to reach out, place her hands on Catra’s waist, and gently pull her closer. Catra’s face looked briefly surprised, up until Adora leaned in to softly kiss her in the morning’s golden light. No words were needed to enjoy the moment - just each other and the soft sounds of trees rustling in the distant Whispering Woods.

After a moment in their mutual embrace, Adora pulled back and placed her forehead to Catra’s. With a gentle whisper, she cooed, “I love you. I haven’t told you that today. But I do, I really do.”

Catra’s purred softly in response. Without moving, she whispered back, “I love you, too. I’ve missed you.” With another wide grin, she added, “And I am also very ready to hit the road. So, grab your stuff and let’s go.”

Adora gave a slight pout in response to the demand, but she agreed. Adora then proceeded to gather up her several bags, threw a couple over her shoulders, and proceeded to carry the rest in hand.

By the time Adora had loaded herself up, Catra was already at the door, with one foot out into the hallway. Before fully exiting, though, Catra leaned back into the room and called out, with an air of sarcasm, “You’d better hurry up. If we get there at a good time, I might be willing to take a walk down to a certain lake Glimmer mentioned…” She trailed off as she began to pace down the hallway outside.

That enticement put a little pep in the blonde’s step. In one motion, she hoisted up all of her baggage and made her way for the door.

As she stepped out into the hall, she called out to Catra, who was already descending the nearby stairwell, “how can I say ‘no’ to that?”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this music-inspired piece! I rewrote the ending three different times because the tone of the first several iterations felt way off. Those might get recycled into their own standalone pieces. Until then!


End file.
